AMF offers tools to help Quebecers, young and old alike, become financially aware

A major financial transaction can be unforgettable — for all the wrong reasons.

“Money gives many opportunities to be happy, but can quickly do damage that lasts many years,” said Camille Beaudoin, head of outreach and education for Quebec’s regulatory agency, the Autorité des marches financiers (AMF). “Buying a car, signing a lease or getting a credit card can be an exciting milestone.” But it takes some thought, some planning. Major financial transactions should not be impulse purchases. “Young people need to learn to look forward.”

It’s tough to get adults to do it, more so for young people, many of whom plan only as far as next weekend, and are a vulnerable group when it comes to financial awareness, as revealed in the AMF Index based on extensive questioning of some 1,500 Quebecers.

The AMF established several profiles based on its research, with young people and the elderly showing little knowledge of financial issues — and little concern for them.

“People aged 17 to 22 are a big concern,” Beaudoin said, adding that the AMF’s youth website tesaffaires.com has become a valuable tool to educate young Quebecers on financial matters. It has been revamped to better reflect social-media traffic and features new tools, like cost and budget calculators, and a plethora of relevant information.

“People need to ask the right questions,” he said. On Tesaffaires.com, you learn about the real costs of car ownership, perils of credit, and even how to budget for the very first time. “Parents can use it to navigate the important conversation of financial literacy in their own household. It’s a very interesting tool.”

So is the simple budgeting tool, “where you can easily see, with a glance, where your money is going and that helps tremendously.”

Targeting real-life situations, the site helps young people negotiate increasingly complex banking and investment options, a great weapon in their arsenal of information — especially when they arrive at CÉGEP or university orientation and are showered with Hacky Sacks, energy drinks and credit-card applications. (A nifty financial glossary helps those who don’t know an amortization from a stripped bond.)

The AMF’s efficacy lies partly in its strategic partnerships to bring financial literacy and autonomy to even more Quebecers. Programs are in the works that include McGill University clinics on credit, budgeting and savings; working with the Carrefours jeunesse-emploi de Côte-des-Neiges (which works closely with black and English-speaking youth in Montreal), and the University Women’s Club of Montreal’s financial literacy project called Beginning the Conversation.

The AMF also works with immigrant communities, where language barriers and traditional mistrust of authorities can leave people particularly vulnerable to fraud and exploitation. In order to get its message across most efficiently, the AMF has started working with community-based organizations already active in dealing with immigrant seniors.

Beaudoin laments the fact that Quebec seniors are not accustomed to asking questions or considering alternatives when faced with financial dealers.

“As a group they don’t have that habit,” he said, adding that, ironically, many are too shy to ask questions or to say no to people who offer them products or services. “They need to ask more questions,” he said.

Such questions should, in fact, be asked by the general populace, and might include:

• What is the policy of retrieving assets?

• Are there delays?

• What are all fees or penalties?

• How will you communicate with them?

• How often can you meet?

• Are there other people in the organization to deal with?

These are all questions that can help anyone make the best decisions and avoid tragic pitfalls.

AMF brochures, all available in English online or delivered to you free of charge, contain a wide variety of helpful information. Alternatively, you can make a simple phone call to the Information Centre, which fields close to 90,000 phone calls a year. This unique and valuable gateway features specially trained, fluently bilingual personnel to assist you on the phone, by email or in person. They will not advise on specific products, but will guide you in discussions with your adviser, flesh out insurance details, or help you determine risk quotients.

Among their most popular materials is the brochure Red-Flagging Financial Fraud. Featuring five easy steps to avoid being a victim, it’s essential reading for everyone — but especially for young people who commonly exhibit impulsive online behaviour, and have a very different take on privacy and information sharing than their parents.

If a broker or adviser says they are registered with the AMF, Beaudoin cautioned, “check with us. A simple call or a click is all it takes.”

Registered advisers contribute to a compensation fund that is available to victims of fraud. “Contacting us should be your first reflex,” he said.